I invited my readers to bake a recipe from the Health and Happiness Society Cookbook and they surprised me. Immediately there were amazing stories and mouthwatering photos. So, I HAD to figure out the best way to share them… This post is an alphabetically-organized combination of the experiences of these wonderful readers who accepted the challenge. If you want to participate in the next round of the baking challenge, don’t forget to sign up here! Apple Strudel Muffins “My family LOVES muffins, but we needed a little shakeup to our old standbys. And strudel? Swoon!  The process took a ..read more

I am so excited to give you a sneak peek of my next Contemporary Romance novel, Lovesick! Lovesick is about Lizbeth and JJ, two beloved characters you’ve seen before in my novels. Lizbeth is the little sister of Bethany, the protagonist of Coffee Shop Girl, and JJ is the little brother of Megan, the protagonist of I am Girl Power. Seriously though, I can’t wait for you to hear their story. In this video, I read one of my favorite scenes… Click below to check it out! Lovesick, the second book in the new Coffee Shop Series, comes out on Valentine’s Day! It’s available for preorder now at y ..read more

Prologue Ellie The smell of alcohol already stained the air. Grimacing, I hovered around the edges of a crowd of sweaty high school bodies clad in strappy dresses and tuxedos. A skirt of deep blue rustled around my legs with no design except a layer of sheer, shimmery fabric over the top. The bodice was a little tight, but my chest felt tight anyway. Anyone would, wearing a dress. Not to mention the fact that I hadn’t been asked to this prom, my best friend was here with the sweetest, most popular girl in the school, and I hated crowds with an introverts fiery passion. Still, I pressed on. Th ..read more

Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella Another lovely Kinsella book! The moment I saw this in the library, I snatched it up. It has your usual heroine that is outrageously herself, with a love interest to be invested in, and friends that you want to keep with you all the time. There were a few moments that I LOL’ed.  It’s one of those had-a-rough-day, need-a-good-book kind of reads, the way she always does. Click here to go back to the Next Best Read homepage and check out other reviews! The post Book Review: Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella appeared first on Katie Cross ..read more

CHAPTER ONE Lizbeth My knuckles turned white as I gripped the steering wheel of my 1992 Honda, a silent mantra in my head.  I won’t slide off the canyon road. I won’t plunge into the icy river below. I won’t die tonight. I won’t slide off the canyon road . . . “Don’t be so dramatic, Lizbeth,” I muttered. “This is fine. Everything is fine. I’m not panicked. Nope.” My voice broke as the wind slammed snow flurries into my window again. “Not at all!” No consolation came. Snow pelted my windshield like a vortex of flying white icicles. Only the illumination of my headlights existed in the dar ..read more

Ransom by Julie Garwood The first time I read this book, I was something like sixteen-years-old and deeply loved it. When I saw it at my library (and then for super cheap on Amazon), I snagged it for old times sake.  I still think this is her best book. #srslytho The start is slow—it’s like 16% before you get to the meet cute between Gillian and Brodick. But the build up is pretty sweet with little Alec. He’s well -handled (and I can say that as the mother of a five-year-old!) Although this was written decades ago, it still stands as a sweet stalwart and a quick, easy read for roma ..read more

Lovesick was frustrating to write, to say the least. Srsly tho, I just about threw my laptop across the room. The premise, that Lizbeth is so in love with love, easily slipped into unbelievability in the first draft. Don’t worry, though. The version of Lovesick that comes out on Valentine’s Day 2021 is worlds better. In part because of the Katie Cross Writing team… McKenna, Samantha, Kristen, and Katie (top left to right). These three are, what we call, the OGs. When Lovesick needed some TLC, I went to them to hash out the storyline, and hammer out the characters. Lovesick is amazing. This te ..read more

Audiobooks for the Health and Happiness Society have been in rapid production. So far we have Bon Bons to Yoga Pants, I am Girl Power, and You’ll Never Know in audiobook format! *throws glitter* But I need your help… I’m trying to find the perfect voice for Mira in What Was Lost and I can’t decide! Here are two of my favorite voice actors. Voice Actor R. Voice Actor C. What do you think? Which voice actor would you pick for Mira? Comment down below! And if your answer is “none of the above,” I’ll return to the audition tapes and keep searching for the perfect Mira. The post What Was Los ..read more

Lovesick was frustrating to write, to say the least. Srsly tho, I just about threw my laptop across the room. The premise, that Lizbeth is so in love with love, easily slipped into unbelievability in the first draft. Don’t worry, though. The version of Lovesick that comes out on Valentine’s Day 2021 is worlds better. In part because of the Katie Cross Writing team… McKenna, Samantha, Kristen, and Katie (top left to right). These three are, what we call, the OGs. When Lovesick needed some TLC, I went to them to hash out the storyline, and hammer out the characters. Lovesick is amazing. This te ..read more

This short story sequence is a series of deleted scenes of Megan and Justin that didn’t make it into the final book, I Am Girl Power, because it swayed the book to a contemporary romance, and that wasn’t in line with the vision I had for it.  But no reason we can’t do that now! If you haven’t read the earlier chapters, click here to read chapter 1 or here to read any of the other chapters! The reason I’ve given the short story sequence to you here is because it’s separate from their story for now—and some future books that I may write for them. Assume that we’re back at Adventura before ..read more